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Pine County

Table of goal data by year
Year Rank 100/20 Mbps
2022 #86 of 87 35.1%
2021 #86 of 87 39.89%
2020 #85 of 87 39.13%
2019 #81 of 87 37.26%
2018 #68 of 87 38.18%
2017 #59 of 87 37.37%
Coverage map graphic

Rank: 86 (out of 87) for access to 100/20 megabits per second (Mbps)

Pine County ranks 86 for broadband access and 86 for digital equity out of 87 counties. They have hovered around 35-40 percent coverage to broadband of 100 Mbps down and 20 up since we have been tracking. There is a slight dip in access this year but it is within a margin of error and may simply reflect a more granular look at access. They have 10959 households without access to broadband at that speed. Estimates indicate that it will cost $102 million to get to ubiquitous broadband in the county.

Pine County will benefit from a border to border grant announced on December 2020:

  • East Central Energy, $4,750,000.00 (serving Pine and Kanabec) (Learn more)

Pine County has been actively seeking better broadband for years; they were part of a Blandin Broadband Communities cohort a few years ago. Unfortunately, much of Pine County is served by one large national provider. That may be a bottleneck to better access in those areas due to the lack of competition can impact the drive for improvement.

They are still code red, but that represents their barriers more than their hard work and perseverance.

Digital Equity:

Pine County ranks 86 out of 87 for digital equity. (See full Digital Equity Profile)

Pine County ranks 63 out of 87 for computer ownership. 88.8 percent of homes have a computer of device as compared to statewide ownership of 95.5 percent.

Household Density

11.8

Number of Providers

13

As of 2022 · Source: MN DEED

Households with Device Access

A Device 81.7% 95.5%
statewide
Desktop or Laptop 72.0% 83.2%
statewide
Smartphone 63.5% 90.1%
statewide
Tablet 46.9% 65.8%
statewide
Other 2.3% 2.3%
statewide

Has Worked with Blandin Foundation

Yes

Has Received MN Grant(s)

Yes

2017 – SCI (Savage Communications Inc.) — Dell Grove Township Broadband Expansion – GRANT $118,248

Government Districts

U.S. Congress: CD 8

MN Senate: 11

MN House: 11A, 11B

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